“And now?” she whispered.
“I am forever grateful to the Fates,” he started, voice gruff, “that I did not know there would be only humans.That I found you in that place.I am ashamed that I did not help those females.I wish now that I had.But I do not feel shame that I took you, as selfish as it may be.”
Kate nodded and sank back down onto his chest, her breath fanning lightly over his nipples.He knew that his answers didn’t satisfy her fully.Thefellixixconveyed her restlessness.
“Thank you for being honest with me, Vaxa.”
“I am sorry,” he said, running his fingers over her nude body.“I am sorry, Kat.”
She sighed against him, relaxing.
“As selfish as it may be…” she said, repeating his words.Her gaze connected with his and she scooted up to push her face into his neck.He felt her hot, whispered words against his flesh.“I am glad that it was you.”
* * *
Long after his Kat drifted off to sleep after another frenzied, consuming mating, Vaxa’an remained awake.His female’s words about the Pit would not leave his mind and every time he thought about his actions there, his gut clenched in shame.
He could have helped those females.He’d had a ship full of Luxirian warriors.The Krevorags were a spineless, physically weak species.He could have taken out the entirety of them with his men and taken the females to safety.
But he hadn’t.
The knowledge speared him.
And guilt ate at him.Not just over the Pit…but over his lie to his female.Vaxa’an could easily return her to her home planet.His crystal would be more than enough power to journey to the Fourth Quadrant, and yet, he’d kept that information to himself.
His heart thudded in his chest, his Instinct quietly content, as he gazed down at his slumbering mate.Would she leave him if he told her he’d lied?Would she demand the crystal and return back to her planet?
He remembered the way she spoke about her home, about her life there in a place called ‘Shee-cog-go.’There had been longing in her gaze, an expression that he could hardly stand because of his guilt.He’d taken that from her.He wondered if she would forgive him if she found out.
Whenshe found out.Because Vaxa’an knew that he would have to tell her.The lie wasn’t settling and the longer he left it to fester, the more it poisoned his thoughts.He needed to be honest with his female.
When they returned back to their home, he would tell her.He would give her the crystal and explain.He didn’t want her thinking that she was a prisoner on his planet, bound to him by an agreement they’d made on his vessel.He wanted her towantto be on Luxiria, towantto be with him.They were now bound by something stronger than any agreement.They were bound by blood and the words they’d shared with one another.
Vaxa’an prayed to the Fates that his Kat would stay once he gave her the power to leave.
TWENTY
Their time on the rah-vrax-tour was over before Kate was ready for it to be.
As the twin suns began their ascent in the sky, they left their little tent behind, which had been their entire world for the past three days.Kate was dressed only in Vaxa’s shirt, as he’d ripped her sheer dress in two that very first time.It seemed so long ago now.They’d both become well acquainted with one another’s bodies that it seemed odd to her that a few days ago, she had never felt him inside her, had never felt him spending his seed deep inside her body, or feeling his comforting, steady presence in her mind.
She would miss that tent, she realized, even though her body was completely exhausted and she felt like she was returning from a war.Kate sighed as their hovercraft rose above the pillars of the Fates, mentally giving them a soft goodbye.
“Blood bonds are renewed every rotation,luxiva,” Vaxa murmured in her ear.One of his hands was piloting the hovercraft.The other had snuck up her shirt and was softly stroking her belly.He was bare-chested, his golden arm band and metal piercings glinting in the morning light.His face was as familiar to her as her own now.His scent, his heat, his touch, his voice…everythingwas familiar to her.
“Every year?” she asked quietly, turning her gaze to the darkly beautiful landscape of Luxiria.
“Tev.”
He’d been strangely quiet all morning.When she’d started tidying up the tent, he’d simply told her to leave everything, that the tent would be retrieved later in the morning.Other than that, he’d seemed to be lost in thought.
It worried her.Was he just as melancholy as she was to say goodbye to this place?Was he thinking about all of his duties back at the mountain city?
Or was he having second thoughts abouther?
The heavy presence in her mind told her little.She felt his nearness inside her, but other than brief flashes of what she thought was worry and dismay, she couldn’t glean anything else.It didn’t make her feel any better…especially since she’d made up her mind that she wanted to stay on Luxiria, with Vaxa, for longer than the lunar cycle.She didn’t know how long she would stay, but all she knew was that she wasn’t ready to leave yet.
She wasn’t ready to leavehim.
